Systems and Methods for Managing Cuttings Using Eddy Pump and Tank

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for handling fluid discharged from an oilfield drilling operation including cuttings and other waste products are disclosed. An eddy pump is coupled to a tank with a controller for dispensing a predefined quantity of fluid to a truck, dryer, or another suitable receptacle. The controller causes a precise quantity of fluid to be dispensed and can deliver a weight ticket to an operator which reduces the risk of too heavy a load causing a fine or too light a load to cause inefficiencies.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present document is based on and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/673,105, filed on May 17, 2018, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Drilling operations produce some waste products, such as cuttings, whichrequire some precise handling and disposal. These cuttings can includeshaker cuttings which are typically 20-40% liquid content by volumeand/or centrifuge cuttings which are 40-60% liquid by volume due to thesmall size of the centrifuge cuttings and the high volume of surfacearea. Solids control technicians typically operate excavators at thedrill site, which can compromise their ability to operate the solidscontrol system. Some operators have minimal training which can present arisk for accidents and damaged equipment. Dump trucks with lined bedstransport the cuttings to disposal facilities. There is a need forefficient, safe, and effective systems and methods for handling cuttingsand other waste products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an eddy tank system according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a system for disposing of cuttings and fluid using a dryeraccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a system for handling a fluid-solids mixtureusing an eddy pump according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting a method for handling a fluid/solidsmixture using an eddy pump according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Below is a detailed description according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The eddy tank utilizes an eddy pump which has beenused in the dredging industry to move solids slurries. The design of theeddy pump efficiently moves the solids without the need for free liquid.The eddy pump may include a housing and an impeller in the housing. Therobust impeller creates an eddy in the fluid just in front of theimpeller. This vortex pulls low pressure at the suction of the eddy pumpwhich aids in priming the eddy pump. As the solids move through the eddypump without touching the impeller, the wear is greatly reduced whencompared to a centrifugal pump. There is generally between 1-9 inches ofclearance between the impeller and the housing which helps to allow afluid vortex to move the solids/fluid mixture through the pipe andreduces wear and corrosion.

The tank arrangement is designed to hold 200-250 barrels of cuttingswaste. This capacity allows for the logistics of trucks to arrive, load,and remove the solids from location in a timely manner. The tank will bedesigned with a recirculation loop that will allow the pump tohomogenize the cuttings and allow for a controlled volume to be divertedfrom the loop to a truck, bin, or secondary processing loop.

By adding a secondary screening device, grinder, and viscosity control,the system is conducive for feeding an injection system. The Eddy tankis a suitable pump and tank for controlling a slurry utilized fordownhole injection.

In some embodiments, the system can include a smaller catch bin and/orpump that is configured to feed a dryer as there would be no need tohold truck load volumes. The systems can be designed with level sensors,flow sensors, and automated control valves that will decrease the needfor supervision and labor. Additionally, a PLC (programmable logiccontroller) can monitor and record performance data for daily and end ofwell reports. The tank design can be effective in a land market, and asmaller bin design (25-50 barrels) can be used for offshoreapplications.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods of the present disclosureare configured to automate the system to improve total cost of ownershipby providing an automated maintenance control system to reduce the needfor personnel. In some embodiments, the systems and methods of thepresent disclosure enable a solids control technician to operate theunloading and feeding to other systems with a programed control loopthat operates, monitors for issues, maintains, and records the data witha minimum effort.

In further embodiments, the systems and methods of the presentdisclosure can be easily transported with a mobile skid design under thetank or with wheels or other suitable transport mechanisms. In someembodiments the eddy pump can be designed on a porch adjacent to thetank and be fitted with a redundant pump that would engage in the eventof an upset that would shut down the first pump.

FIG. 1 shows an eddy tank system 10 according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The system 10 includes an eddy pump 12 and an augertank 14 with the eddy pump 12 operatively coupled to the auger tank 14such that the eddy pump 12 moves the fluid in the auger tank 14,including any solid material such as cuttings that may be in the augertank 14. The system 10 can also include shakers 16 which are positionedover the auger tank 14 to allow fluid to fall into the auger tank 14.There can be any number of shakers 16.

The system 10 can be used in place of an excavator (not shown) and theday/night operators who man the excavator. The eddy pump 12 is mountedto the auger tank 14 and can be configured to remove cuttings in the60-70% dry range in some embodiments. In some embodiments, the eddy pump12 can be configured to remove cuttings in the 60-80% dry range. Theeddy tank 12 can include a housing 11 and an impeller 13 in the housing11. In some embodiments, there is between 1 inch and 9 inches ofclearance between the impeller 13 and the housing 11. The auger tank 14can include an auger 15 that can push the cuttings into the eddy pump12. The eddy pump 12 has an output line 13 into which the eddy pump 12delivers the fluid-cuttings mixture. The output line 13 can bepositioned to deliver the fluid-cuttings mixture to any desired locationfor further handling and processing.

In some embodiments, the system 10 further includes a recirculation loop18 that can remix with the cuttings in the fluid, resulting in ahomogenous blend. In some embodiments, the system 10 is to be used tofeed a cuttings dryer or other component with a limited intake capacity.For example, some dryers have a limit of 50 gallons per minute. A valve20 can be added to the recirculation loop 18 to divert a certain flowtoward the dryer and recirculate the remainder or to direct theremainder to another treatment option.

In some embodiments, the system 10 includes a programmable logiccontroller (PLC) 22 and several measuring and control devices such asautomated control valves, flow sensors, torque monitors, densitymonitoring, and a weigh station. The PLC 22 can be configured tointerface with these devices via a wired or wireless connection toprecisely control how the system 10 operates. For example, the PLC 22may be configured to interface with one or more sensing mechanisms 23(e.g., flow sensors, density sensors, etc.) to sense fluid properties ofthe mixture. The sensing mechanisms 23 may be located at various pointsin the system 10.

Conventional techniques require an operator and/or excavator to loadtrucks. The truck is loaded and many times the individual responsiblefor loading the truck will not have precise information about the weightof the load and will therefore err on the side of caution and under-loadthe truck because the driver is afraid of getting stopped and fined forbeing overweight. The operator is charged for a full load and throughoutthe course of the well the difference in these missed loads can bethousands of dollars. The systems and methods of the present disclosureensure the operator is paying for a full load and the driver has a weighticket and is assured of a legal load on the highway.

The PLC 22 and associated sensors, and scales can be automated and thesolids control technician only has to initiate the sequence once thesolids control technician is assured the truck and loading boom are inalignment. Daily records are kept and end of well performance recaps aretabulated to assure performance to the operator. Many operators don'tknow the waste volume on their well as sometimes trucking companies bill30 days late which is after the well is drilled and the books areclosed.

The electrical motors, controls, and sensors can be designed to Class 1Division 2 standards. The auger tank 14 can be equipped with loadhitches that allow the auger tank 14 to be quickly loaded and moved to anew location. Hose sections that are equipped with jet lines and can bequickly purged if a sensor determines a line plugging incident isoccurring. Minimal jetting of fluid is required to unplug lines asautomated sensors catch bridging faster than control room humancounterparts. The flush liquid is only added to the plugging line.

Grating with ingress hatches are mounted to the surface of the augertank 14 to prevent items being dropped into the tank and or personnelentry. Handrails are mounted around the auger tank 14 to prevent fallswith kick plate to prevent dropping of parts and tools. Any maintenanceof the eddy pump 12 or auger tank 14 involves a lockout tagout procedureto prevent accidental starting of the system.

The system 10 can include a loading boom 24 that directs fluid outputfrom the auger tank 14. The loading boom 24 can deliver the fluid to anydesired location, such as an external receptacle (e.g., truck) oranother piping system or another treatment solution. The truck shown inFIG. 1 is positioned on a load scale 26 which weighs the truck and thecontents of the load. Automating the fluid delivery and weighing thetruck will result in a more accurate and therefore efficient wastedisposal system.

FIG. 2 shows a system 30 for disposing of cuttings and fluid using adryer 32 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The system30 can include an auger tank 14, an eddy pump 12, and shakers 16 similarto the system shown in FIG. 1. The output line 13 in this embodiment iscoupled to the dryer 32 which receives the fluid-solids mixture. In someembodiments, a valve 20 directs a portion of the mixture to the dryer aslimited by the capabilities of the dryer. A recirculation loop 18 candirect the remainder of the fluid into the auger tank 14. The dryer 32can include a centrifuge 33, a cuttings dryer 34, and a dry solidsholding tank 35. These components can further process the cuttings anddispose of them as desired.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a system 40 for handling a fluid-solids mixtureusing an eddy pump according to embodiments of the present disclosure.The system 40 includes shakers 16, an eddy pump 12, an auger tank 14,and an output line 13. A disposal system 42 is coupled to the outputline 13 and is configured to receive and treat the cuttings and fluidmixture.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting a method 50 for handling afluid/solids mixture using an eddy pump according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The method 50 can be executed using the systems andmethods shown and described elsewhere herein such as in FIGS. 1-3. At52, a truck operator arrives with a truck to be filled with afluid/solids mixture. The operator can initiate the process using abutton or another suitable initiation mechanism which may includepassing the capacity of the truck as a parameter. In some embodiments,the loading station can be equipped with measuring capabilities that canmeasure the truck's capacity on the spot. In still other embodiments,the loading station can communicate with the truck via RFID or otherwireless or wired communication mechanisms by which the loading stationcan receive a capacity parameter.

At 54, the fluid/solids mixture is deposited into the truck. At 56, thetruck continues to be filled while one or more of the followingconditions is met. One condition is that the truck capacity is not yetreached (truck not full). This condition can be based on the capacityparameter achieved through one of the various ways described above at52. Another condition is that sufficient fluid/solids mixture remains inthe tank to be delivered. Yet another condition is that the fluidparameters are within tolerance. The systems delivering the fluid/solidsmixture to the truck can include various sensors and measuringcomponents such as level sensors, fluid/solid mixture concentrationsensing mechanisms, scales, metering valves, etc. Virtually anyparameter can be monitored and the filling of the truck can be dependentupon the parameters. For example, if a truck needs to have a certainpercentage of solids in the mixture, if the mixture deviates from thispercentage by more than a predetermined amount, the delivery can behalted and/or a warning can be given.

At 58, once the conditions for terminating delivery are met, the loadingstation can terminate delivery of fluid/solids mixture. At 60, a weightticket can be printed or otherwise delivered to the operator to enablethe operator to know precisely the weight of the load. This helps toavoid costly fines for overages, and the inefficiency of under-loadingthe truck. These systems can be automated and run by a controller suchas a PLC or other suitable computing device which can be local to theloading station or can be managed via a remote communication link.

1. A system, comprising: a tank configured to receive a mixture offluids and solids from an oilfield drilling operation, wherein themixture is between 60% and 80% dry; an eddy pump operatively coupled tothe tank and configured to move the mixture from the tank into anexternal receptacle; an auger in the tank configured to move the mixturetoward the eddy pump; sensing mechanisms configured to sense fluidproperties of the mixture; and a controller operatively coupled to theeddy pump, the auger, and the sensing mechanisms, wherein the controlleris configured to operate the eddy pump and the auger to deliver adesired quantity of the mixture to the external receptacle.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the eddy pump comprises a housing and animpeller in the housing, wherein there is between 1 inch and 9 inches ofclearance between the impeller and the housing.
 3. The system of claim1, wherein the controller is configured to receive instructions for aquantity of fluid to deliver to the external receptacle.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the external receptacle comprises a dryer.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a recirculating loop operativelycoupled to the eddy pump, wherein the recirculating loop is configuredto direct a predefined portion of the fluid pumped by the eddy pump backinto the tank.
 6. A method, comprising: storing a mixture of fluids andsolids received from an oilfield drilling operation containing cuttingsthat is between 60% and 80% dry; receiving a parameter for a quantity ofthe mixture to be delivered to an external receptacle; monitoring afluid property of the mixture; while the fluid property of the mixtureis within a predetermined acceptable range, delivering the mixture tothe external receptacle using an eddy pump until the quantity of mixturehas been delivered to the external receptacle; and delivering a weightticket describing a weight of the mixture delivered to the externalreceptacle.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the weight of the mixtureis derived from the fluid property and the quantity of the mixture. 8.The method of claim 6, wherein the eddy pump comprises a housing and animpeller in the housing, wherein there is between 1 inch and 9 inches ofclearance between the impeller and the housing.